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him, all her love and happiness had been pushed out of her. She had
been hollowed out – an empty shell – and all that was left was a
brittle skin that had shrivelled up in the sun. That night his dad had
stood in the living room for hours. Head in hands. He had ignored
the touch of the son who he blamed. His mother had not been in an
accident. She had not slipped and fallen somewhere. She had filled
up the car with petrol and left Redburn for good.
F
rom
R
edburn
H
ill
you could see everything. The main street: a
beaten down pharmacy, the local store and a surf shop painted with
garish fluoro paint. The huddles of identical rooftops, and spots of
gums that stretched their wispy arms above their arching heads. On
the east side of Redburn was the heart of the town – the boats, the
concrete wharf, the thirsty nets cast forgotten on the ground, and
recently the shiny yachts. Redburn was changing – in the last few
years glossy white apartments had shot up, towering over the broad
stretch of shimmering blue.
He could see Ryan and Jordan doing backflips and somersaults
off the end of the jetty. Each time they landed, a spray of water
engulfed their tanned bodies and he was reminded of the splash of
his father’s body that day. On the other side of town was Emily
Longwood’s house. For a moment, his eyes rested on the back door
as if expecting her to burst out at any moment.
‘I love the view from up here.’ That voice. He jumped, stood up
quickly, nearly snagging himself on the rocks. Emily was standing in
front of him, blocking the sun so all he could see was the hazy
silhouette of her long lean body. She was in a bright bikini: a
pineapple yellow undertoned with crimson, zigzagging across until it
met creamy pink – like the pink on the wings of the butterflies you
find at Lorny’s Corner. It looked as though the colours had melted
away and been left to trickle down the curve of her breasts. He
caught himself and looked away. ‘You were there when Jimmy Whett
nearly drowned, right?’
‘Yeah, it’s great... I mean yeah I guess I was,’ he said. The words
came out jilted, standoffish. He sounded like an idiot. She gave him
a look. He turned so they were both facing out to the bay, then
sneaked a quick look at her tanned skin – the peek of white skin
where the two halves of her bikini met. He paused, and waited for
her to say something. She flicked her hair. He softened his voice, ‘We
Jetty View